Pokemon: Guardians of Paradise
by StoryWolf
Summary: When Pokemon Master Aiden Crossroad tries to stop the plans of the evil organization Team Chaos, he finds himself in more trouble than he bargained for. Will he be able to stop them, or will he perish in the depths of the Tree of Beginning?
1. Chapter 1: Only Human

_**Guardians of Paradise**_

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

I have always never thought before I acted… I guess that's how I got in this situation in the first place. I have always put the fate of others before my own. That's just the way I am…but now I'm afraid…this could be it for me. I have only one shot, one chance, and it could be my last. To save the lives of the ones I care about…to save the life of the world…I must give up my own…

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><p><strong><em><span>Chapter 1: Only Human<span>_**

I have always never thought before I acted… I guess that's how I got in this situation in the first place. I have always put the fate of others before my own. That's just the way I am. Forgive me, I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. My name is Aiden. At age 19, I was a Pokemon Master, but later resigned after a few years to help with a greater cause. My friends and I used the knowledge and money that we gained from our previous careers to open Mt. Paradise, a secluded mountain plateau with endless acres of land perfect for both rescued and wild Pokemon alike. We also put together a task group to keep Pokemon safe from poachers like Team Rocket and now the more sinister and deadly group, Team Chaos.

One day, I got a call from one of my old professors. He found out that Team Chaos had sent some of their men to a place called the Tree of Beginning, a Pokemon paradise not too different from our own here. I volunteered to go check out what they were up to.

(You see, this is what I was talking about earlier about the 'thinking' thing. I should've known better.)

Anyway, I took a Flygon there and began my investigation. It turns out they were causing trouble there, of course. They were catching Pokemon using strange kind of poke balls that I had never seen before. The Pokemon that they used seemed sinister somehow, like they were being controlled more than just listening to their masters. I knew this was bad. Whatever Team Chaos was planning, they had to be stopped.

The first time I tried to take them on was terrible. I thought they were cutthroat before, but what I saw and experienced that day…it's almost impossible to describe. Their Pokemon had no hesitation, no recollection of what they were doing. They nearly killed my Pokemon as well as myself. I managed to escape and made it to the Pokemon Center down the road from the closest town, how I'll never know. I never considered my Pokemon my servants, my tools or anything like that. They're like family to me. I tried contacting base for back-up, but the phone lines were dead and because of the Tree's interference I couldn't use my other gear to contact them. I was really alone.

From the Pokemon Center I already could see the signs of Team Chaos' plans unfolding. The wild Pokemon outside ran by the windows of the building, away from the forest. They were restless, confused, frightened…I knew that this would be just the beginning if someone couldn't stop them. Knowing they were in no condition to continue fighting and in fear for their safety, I left my Pokemon behind…a promise that I hated to break…and went back to the Tree of Beginning alone. Before leaving, I left the nurse at the Pokemon Center my information and a message for the people back at base in case I didn't make it back. I knew that if I didn't contact them, my team would come here and take my Pokemon back to Mt. Paradise where they would be safe.

I took Flygon to the foot of the Tree and told him to go back to the Pokemon Center and wait for my team to take him and the others home. He flew back at lightning speed and I entered the cavern entrance. I took a deep breath before I looked around the first corner. There were two guards there, they really didn't look like they were paying attention, but their Pokemon were on high alert. I had one option, I would have to fight my way through. Carefully and quietly I opened my nap sac and took out one of my latest inventions, a glove with the ability to collect data from Pokemon I have trained and allow me to use some of their attacks myself. I had never used it before and I didn't know what it would do to me, but I had no other options. I put the battle glove on and the computer came online.

Softly, I gave the computer a command, "Scan Sora."

Sora was my alternate colored Raichu that I had trained from a Pichu and she was also the very first Pokemon I had ever trained. The computer scanned for her attacks and loaded them in. I readied myself for the most serious battle of my life. It was a whole room of grunts and their Pokemon against me, I had to be careful. As soon as the scan was completed, I rushed out and used Quick Attack on one of the guards and used Quick Attack again to hide. They all had no idea I was there. I tried another attack using Quick Attack and Thunder together. It took a while, but eventually I took them all out. In that instant, I knew how dangerous this invention really was. All of this power flowing through me, I really liked it. I kept my self control, but I thought about what would happen if this fell into the wrong hands. No matter what happened, I absolutely could not get caught with this.

I ran in a bit further into the caverns. I saw more crystals around me so I knew I was on the right track. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched by someone.

I stopped just a few feet from the corner of the entrance into one of the grand halls of the cavern. I took out a video recorder from my bag and slightly pointed it toward the corner. I looked at the view screen and could see the room was crawling with grunts and their Pokemon, most of which were Toxicroak and Seviper. That was just like Team Chaos, having a room full of deadly Pokemon to protect the few grunts they had there. Those cowards.

_Great just what I needed, I really need to be careful now. If I get hit by any of those Pokemon, I'm a goner_, I thought to myself.

Just then, I got that same feeling that I was being watched. I quickly turned around and just two inches from my face was Mew! I was startled and almost let out a yell when I caught myself and put my hand over my mouth.

_Dear god, I hope they didn't hear that_, I tried so hard not to breathe. That was a scary thought.

I waited a minute to see if I could hear them coming… …nothing, not a sound. I breathed a sigh of relief and then gently told the Mew to shh.

Mew was a fun loving Pokemon by nature, I knew this from reading articles about them from people that have claimed to have seen Mew.

I knelt down and Mew hovered at my level just a few inches from the ground. It was really curious, I guess it wanted to know what I was doing and thought I looked silly just hiding behind this rock. I looked at Mew, I didn't know how to explain to it the situation I was having. My own Pokemon understood me, but that was different. Mew has never met me before and, most likely, has never met another human before me or these creeps invading it's home. I took a deep breath and began to explain to it what was going on.

As I was telling Mew about how the men were bad and that I was trying to help, it seemed to understand me.

"Well", I said taking a deep breath, "I have to go."

Just when I was about to rush out there, felt a tug on my jacket. It was Mew. It let out a little peep sound, like it was telling me to 'wait'. I actually understood what it was saying. I knelt down beside Mew, making sure that I understood it correctly.

"You…wanna help me?", I asked curiously.

Mew nodded and let out a soft cry. I really didn't like the idea of Mew helping me, I didn't want it to get hurt. Well, it wasn't like I could tell it 'no you can't help me save your home'.

"Okay", I agreed, "but you have to be careful."

Mew got a little excited and I reminded it gently to be quiet. Mew covered it's mouth the same way I did when it startled me. My god, it was too darn cute.

I peeked around the corner one last time, I had my glove ready and tightened my fist. I wasn't going to let Team Chaos beat me again. I failed once, I won't make let them get away with it twice. I glanced a little at Mew.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Mew", Mew piped and nodded.

I started counting down, "Three…"

One of the Pokemon finally caught my scent, their senses must be seriously lacking due to their hypnotized like state. Or it could just be their master's poor training methods.

"Two…", I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for the battle that was about to unfold.

The Pokemon that sensed my presence started walking toward the corner.

"Now", I ordered quietly and rushed out into the open.

I used Quick Attack from my scanner and hit the Toxicroak hard. I looked over where Mew had appeared over a group of Pokemon and quickly teleported them out of the hall. I assumed it dropped them off out of the Tree or somewhere where they couldn't do any harm. The other Pokemon saw me and jumped in to try and attack me, but Mew was way ahead of them and teleported me to the other side of the hall. This gave me the room I need to use one the strongest attacks Sora had. I used Quick Attack, Thunder, and Iron Tail together to make Volt Tackle. Now when I used Iron Tail I noticed that since I didn't have a tail, the energy went to my arm instead, I wondered how that would work. I hit about three of the Pokemon, but as I went to turn around I saw another Toxicroak behind me. It was about to use Poison Claw on me, but Mew teleported me out just in time. I came up above him and used Zap Cannon. The grunts pulled out their guns and started firing. I heard their confusion as I took their Pokemon out one by one.

"What is this guy, some kind of half-Pokemon or something?" One of them yelled nervously.

"I don't know, but I think he's heading right for us!"

Oh, I was more than heading right for them, I was on a collision course. I had a Zap Cannon saved in my hand and was using a Quick Attack at the same time. I was trying something new. I pulled my arm back as I appeared right in front of one of them, I hit him with the attack dead on. I'm sure it felt like an electrified truck just ran into him. He blew to the other side of the hall and was knocked out cold.

I turned to the other grunt, who was shaking terribly as he held the gun right at me. He had just realized that he was literally the only one left in the room, no more grunts, no Pokemon, just me…and him.

I gave him a look of anger as walked toward him. My glove began to glow, I bet I looked like some angry spirit or something to this guy, because he didn't fire at me, not even once. I was no more than a foot from him now, that's when I realized that he was just a kid, not much younger than I was. My expression didn't change however, I just looked at him thinking how could he have chosen a path that would lead to innocent Pokemon getting hurt or killed.

In one motion, he turned his gun around and offered it to me. I took it from him and then used Thunder to fry the gun's circuits. I had no use for the gun, and I really wanted to scare the shit out of him. I tossed the gun aside, never taking my eyes off of him. The grunt fell to his knees, he obviously thought I was going to kill him. I would never do such a thing, of course, but he had no idea what I was thinking.

"Go ahead and kill me," His voice began to shake, "I never wanted to do this…The things we've done…the killing, the manipulation, I can't stand it!…"

He was really breaking down now, he really meant what he was saying. Not acting at all. He sincerely meant that he regretted everything he did. _Poor, lost creature_, I thought to myself.

"…Please..", I could feel the lump in his throat as he barely got out the words that nearly made my skin crawl, "…kill me…"

I waited the for a moment, not quite sure of what to do. I took a few steps back and took a deep breath, I noticed it was getting harder for me to breathe. I figured it must've been the adrenaline rush. He noticed I stepped back and looked at me.

"Why?"

Exactly what I was thinking, why? Why didn't I just take this kid out like the rest of the goons in this place. I knew why now, it was just that. He was just a kid. I gave him a slightly sincere look, I had no idea what to say. I looked back and saw Mew at the other end of the hall. It was motioning to me to get a move on. I can tell, it was just too animated. I looked back at the boy.

"Because I see more in you", that was all I could think of to say at that moment. The same thing my old professor said to me when he gave me the chance to become a Pokemon trainer.

I quickly turned and ran toward the entrance. I stopped and looked back one last time and gave him a look.

"I'd get out of here if I were you." I warned and I dashed out of the hall into another cavern around the corner and left the boy alone to his thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2: Savage Nature

**_Chapter 2: Savage Nature_**

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><p>I noticed it was getting easier to use my abilities. It started becoming second nature. I didn't have to say what attack I wanted to use now, I just thought it and the glove recorded it. I looked over at Mew who was hovering next to me at the same speed as I was running. I wondered if it actually knew how serious this really was, saving the Tree from these goons. But I guess it had to know, this was it's home after all. It just looked like Mew was enjoying all of this. 'Fun loving Pokemon'? Yeah, no kidding.<p>

There was a lot of ground to cover before we would reach the center of Team Chaos' operation. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. Mew came and looked at me curiously, like it was wondering why I was tired. Mew wasn't tired at all of course, because he was floating the whole time. Lucky Pokemon. I still noticed it was harder breathe, I didn't think much of it. I was using a lot of my energy and I have been running around for more an hour straight. Maybe I was just tired. No time for rest though, I still had to stop Team Chaos.

"_I'll rest when this is all over", _I thought as I finally caught my breath and started running again.

I kept thinking of my Pokemon back at the Pokemon Center. Sora, my Raichu, always by my side whenever I needed her. Howl, my Ninetails, which was a gift from one of the Pokemon Masters when I was still a trainer. He always had my back in a fight. Pal, my Bulbasaur. I know what you're thinking, what would a Pokemon Master want with a Bulbasaur? Well, he never wanted to evolve, he wanted to stay the way he was. I always admired him for that. Small little guy, but he was tough and had a lot of power. I always called him 'pal' so the name kind of stuck. Able, my young Dratini I had just started training. Always so kind hearted, always took care of the younger Pokemon in the reserve. He'll make a great Dragonite one day, I know he will. And Silver, oh Silver…my Eevee, she never wanted to evolve and I never forced her too. She had come from an abusive trainer that abandoned her and I rescued her. I promised her that I would never hurt her and I did just that. I left her at the Pokemon Center. She trusted me and I just left her there! How could I do that to her? I was so angry at myself, I hated this! I hated all of it!

Suddenly, I heard Mew's voice. I realized that I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost ran out into the open! Mew had a hold of my jacket and pulled me back. Mew gave this 'what were you thinking' look. It was still too cute. I apologized to it and then peeked around the corner. I wanted to make sure they didn't see me. It looked like no one noticed, thank god. That could've ruined everything if they did.

I peeked over to find out where I was. This room was bigger than the others. It was more heavily guarded by Pokemon and grunts. I had the feeling this must've been the room before the one that the head guy was in. I was almost there, I was just around the corner from stopping Team Chaos at the source.

My heart started racing as I readied myself for the attack. I heard Mew growl behind me. This was the first time I saw Mew so serious. It must've felt the same way I felt, this was it, no turning back.

I told Mew I was ready and it teleported me into the center of the room. I used Thunder and Zap Cannon together to make electricity flood the entire room. The spark short-circuited all of the electrical equipment, which is what I was aiming for. No electrical equipment means that they have a set back and a set back means more time for me to stop their plans.

One of the Sevipers in the group came rushing in at me. I dodged using Quick Attack, counter attacked using Iron Tail (with my leg, I know slightly confusing.) and kicked it back across the room and it hit a couple other Pokemon and knocked them down.

The grunts were shooting wildly. Some of their bullets even hit their own Pokemon. That really pissed me off. I rushed in on them with Quick Attack, one of the bullets barely grazed my shoulder. I came within a few feet from them, used Iron Tail, and punched one of them clear in the face. The other one was just a few feet from me, so I just kicked him with Iron Tail took him out.

Suddenly, an Ariados caught me by surprise and used Spider Web. The attack hit my arm and blew me against the wall. I tried to pry my arm off the wall, but the Spider Web was too strong and I couldn't break free. I was trapped.

I'm thinking, _Well, here I am, stuck to a wall, in a room full of murderous Pokemon and no where to go…Great._

The Pokemon began to surround me, their eyes gleaming ready to strike.

_Oh come on, as if being stuck here isn't enough for you!, _I thought.

The Pokemon leaped in for a strike. The one arm that was free had my glove, so I was able to keep them away for a little bit. But with me not able to move from where I was, it was only a matter of time before one of them got me. One came in at a different angle and I knew I wasn't quick enough. I closed my eyes and hope it would be quick.

Suddenly, I heard what seemed to be a clang sound and then a crash. I opened my eyes and saw a barrier around me. There ahead of me, protecting me, was Mew. Here I was, this stranger, that broke into it's home and responsible for most of the damage here, and it's protecting me. Mew was truly an amazing Pokemon. I thanked Mew for saving me and Mew smiled at me. Then it quickly turned and growled at the other Pokemon that now surrounded us.

Suddenly, the room began to shake. It was so strong that my arm broke away from the wall.

"Good I'm free", I sighed with relief.

I looked at Mew.

"Thanks again."

Mew gave me a confusing look. Suddenly, I realized something I wish I didn't.

"Wait, you're not doing this are you?"

Mew shook it's head.

"That's not good", obvious statement. Of course this wasn't good.

The cavern shook harder and I almost lost my footing. I looked at the cave entrance to the grand hall across the room and my heart leapt into my throat. There, walking in, was a Team Chaos Officer and a Rhyperior.

All I could think of was, _Oh Shit!_

The Rhyperior let out a huge roar as the officer gave it the order to attack. It was like the officer just let go of the chain leash that held this monster back. These Pokemon were not like normal Pokemon. They were trained killers and this one was heading right for us.

Now remember, I'm was using a glove that is loaded with electrical attacks, aside from Iron Tail. I couldn't reload water attacks because I need water for that and there's none around me, plus the scan would take too long anyway. I had to think of something else and improvise. Not only that, I had to think of something quick.

Mew teleported us out of the way just in time before the Rhyperior had a chance to hit us. That's when I had the idea, crystal. Crystal was strong enough to knock him out and the room was filled with them and they were large enough to hide behind. I gave Mew a look signaling to follow my lead and it nodded.

I yelled from across the room, "Hey!"

That's all I really needed to get it's attention. The Rhyperior charged at me at full speed. It lowered it's head to use Megahorn. I've seen this move a few times, it's a favorite for many trainers with horned Pokemon. I waited until it got at least five feet from me, then ran almost sliding across the room. I wanted it to gain momentum, I only had one shot so I had to make it count. The Rhyperior slid into the crystal a little, whipped around and charged toward me. Damn he was faster than I thought. I stopped dead in front of one of the crystal walls, looking like I had no where else to go. I turned and looked at the Rhyperior.

_I really hope this works, _I prayed.

Rhyperior came only a few feet from me when I gave Mew the order to teleport. We both disappeared and the Rhyperior crashed head first into the crystal. It was knocked out cold. We appeared at the other end of the room. There was no time to celebrate, now it was the officer's turn.

The officer threw two poke balls into the room. She didn't call back her Rhyperior. I thought that was rather odd. One was Seviper, I figured that. Poisonous Pokemon were like a requirement for members of Team Chaos to have. The other one made me freeze up. I looked at it's huge pinchers, the pincher like tail, the scorpion-like fangs…it was a Drapion. Not just a Drapion, a huge one. It must've broke the world record or something because I have never seen one this big, not even in the Master matches I had. What was up with this chick and having freaky Pokemon!

They both charged at us and we readied ourselves for another go. I was getting seriously tired now, I could hardly breathe. My body felt like it might give out from exhaustion. What was wrong with me? I had to muddle through it. I took a deep breath in and closed my eyes. I quickly opened my eyes and used Quick Attack. I formed a Zap Cannon in my hand, at least I had a chance at getting a hit on these two. Seviper tried to bite me but I dodged it and aimed the Zap Cannon at Drapion. If I have learned anything from battles like this, it was to knock out the most dangerous Pokemon first. The Zap Cannon hit dead on and blew Drapion across the room and it hit one of the crystal walls. The Seviper was right behind me and charged at me, his fangs open wide.

Mew quickly teleported me safely away from Seviper so I can get a clear shot. I looked at Mew and noticed it was starting to tire out. I didn't blame it, using Teleport over and over again is exhausting. I knew that from watching one of my friends train their Abra.

"Mew!", I yelled, "Take a rest a minute, don't worry about me I'm fine!"

Mew looked really worried, was there something it was sensing that I couldn't notice? Seviper was fast as lightning. I tried to keep up using Quick Attack to dodge, but it was proving difficult.

"_Mew!", _Mew screamed at me.

Now I knew something was wrong. I didn't notice that the officer had thrown another poke ball into the room. It was an Exploud. It used Hyper Voice to disorient me, well it worked. I couldn't help but cover my ears, it felt like my brain was going to explode! I looked over at Mew, the sound was affecting it too. It also tried to cover it's ears to escape the noise. The Seviper was also hit, it screamed in pain which made it worse. I could feel something warm coming from my ears. I saw a few drops of blood fall to the cavern floor. I knew how bad this was. It only lasted a minute, but it felt like hours as I was fighting to stay conscious.

Finally, the horrible sound stopped but the sound still rang in my ears. I knelt down to the floor and struggled to get back up.

"I'm impressed", snickered the officer. I barely heard her through the ringing in my ears. "No human has ever stayed awake through my Exploud's Hyper Voice before."

My vision was going, but I could barely see Mew still holding it's ears. Pokemon's ears were more sensitive than humans, I felt so sorry that it had to go through this. The Drapion came up right behind Mew and held it to the ground so it couldn't move. Mew struggled to get free, it was hard for me to hear but it was screaming to get loose.

"_Mew!", _I cried out to it as I tried to stand up. But because of Exploud's Hyper Voice, I no longer had balance and I had to catch myself.

I struggled and finally was able to stand up. I was disgusted by how amusing that officer thought this was.

Suddenly, Rhyperior came and used Hammer Arm to pin me to the wall. That knocked the wind out of me, I couldn't breathe at all now. It felt like I was going to black out. I tried to fight it…tried to move to get free, but it was no use. I already knew it was no use. Rhyperior released me and I almost fell to the ground but I caught myself. This freak was just playing with me now, like I was some kind of helpless animal just trying to get away. I really hated this psycho.

I started to get some form of focus as I tried to stand up. I should've just stayed down, at least the room wouldn't have been spinning. Seviper suddenly came in at me! I had no time to react, all I could do was watch. Seviper bit right into my leg and I let out a blood curdling yell. As I lost my footing, it hit me again with Poison Tail across my chest and the back of my head hit the wall behind me. The venom hit me so quickly that I couldn't breathe. Seviper then wrapped me and held me against the wall. It was going to kill me, it was really going to kill me! I closed my eyes.

"That's enough!"

I barely heard that voice, but I knew it right away. I really wished that I didn't. It was Ivan Masters the leader of Team Chaos. He must've walked away from whatever he was doing when he heard everything settling down out here. The Seviper dropped me and I fell to the ground. Even though it had let me go, I still found it hard to breathe. I heard his footsteps grow louder and louder as I lied there. I so wanted to hit him right now. I wanted to take out all my frustration and anger on him, but I couldn't. It felt like I was drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the great Pokemon Master Aiden Crossroad. I was wondering when to expect a visit from you." He looked around the room, he gave me a slightly confused look. "Your Pokemon are not with you, decided to come by yourself? How reckless of you. And you hand delivered Mew to me as well."

I heard what he was saying, but I didn't really pay attention to him. I was worried about Mew.

Masters looked at Rhyperior, "Pick him up."

I felt it's tremendous weight as it pushed against my back and grabbed the back of my jacket.

"Easy now", he snickered. I guess he was trying to show me how much control he had over the Pokemon in Team Chaos.

Rhyperior pulled me up. I was so limp, I couldn't move at all. I couldn't even hold myself up. My feet were just barely planted on the ground. I was struggling to stay alive at this point.

"So, what do you say now, _Master_ Aiden?"

"…_Mew…get out…"_

My voice was so quiet, I hardly even recognized it as my own. Mew gave me a sad look. I knew it didn't want to leave me there, but I figured if it had enough power left for one Teleport, it can get itself out.

Masters barely heard me, "come again?"

"…_get out…"_

I opened my eyes a little and looked at Mew. I felt so weak, so helpless.

"…_I'll be fine…"_

Mew's eyes started watering.

Masters finally caught on to what I was doing and told his men to stop Mew from escaping. _"Stop it! Don't let it escape!"_

I yelled one last time, _"Mew Go!"_

Mew closed it's eyes and teleported. One of the poke balls hit Drapion instead and Drapion disappeared. At least Mew was safe, but my troubles were just beginning. I took a deep breath and looked at Masters, I could feel the anger rising between the two of us. My fist tightened. That's when I realized something, I moved my arm. I can move. I decided to try and keep that a secret, it seemed like a good idea. However, I wasn't prepared for what was about to happen next.

Masters snapped his fingers and Rhyperior took it's other arm and pushed me into the wall with incredible force. Everything went completely black. I was convinced that I was dead.

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><p>Author's Note: Updates Mondays. :)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Broken Promises

_**Chapter 3: Broken Promises**_

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><p>"Are you sure you can do this?"<p>

"I have to, I don't have a choice."

"No, you do have a choice…"

I was remembering the last conversation I had with my best friend, Eva. This was before I came here. She really didn't want me to go by myself, but I had to.

"Just wait for the others to get back", she begged me. Why didn't I listen to her?

"And interrupt Maxwell's competition, I don't think so."

"Surely a competition isn't more important than risking your life."

"That may be true, but keeping this place open is. If I call Max, he'll abandon the competition to help. I can't do that."

It was hard decision to make. I couldn't let Maxwell give up the Master Pokemon Contest finals. The truth was that we were desperate for funds for Mt. Paradise. We couldn't lose this place or developers would take this place over and the Pokemon that lived here would have no where else to go.

Eva was trying so hard to keep her tears back. What I was doing was suicide and we both knew it.

"Then I'm going with you." I could not believe she said that.

"No, no way! There is no way I'm letting you come with me!" I yelled.

I set my pack on Flygon's back.

"_Aiden, don't do this!" she begged me. _

This was so hard, I looked at the ground. I was trying so hard not to look at her. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around me. I wasn't expecting this, but I knew she was so upset.

"_Aiden please…please don't do this."_

I wrapped my arms around her and held her. We had already lost one of our friends to Team Chaos, she didn't want to see another disappear forever.

"Hey…", I looked at her, my heart was pounding. "It's okay."

She nodded. She knew there was no stopping me, but she knew she had to try anyway. Even if everything came crashing around her, she would always try.

She looked at me with those sad, brown eyes, "Just try to be careful, okay."

"I will", I promised

I climbed onto Flygon's back.

"I'll call you when I get there, okay."

"You better", she teased.

We waved to each other and I took off.

Suddenly, everything went black again. I opened my eyes, everything was blurred all around me. I felt so stiff.

"Ugh…Why the hell do I keep breaking my promises?", I said mentally kicking myself.

I took a look around. I was in a tent, at least that's what I could gather from the pale orange blur surrounding me. They didn't even bother to tie me down obviously, I didn't have the strength to get up and I'd probably die in an hour or two anyway.

"So they just left me to die here? The freaking bastards."

Of course what would I expect from the head of a murderous organization like Team Chaos. Suddenly, I just remembered…my glove.

"Oh god, please tell me they didn't…"

I lifted my arm up and looked. The glove was still there, my vision was blurry, but I knew the glove was still there. I noticed that it was hard for me to keep my arm up. Yep, that Seviper got me good alright. I set my arm back down and looked up at the top of the tent.

_There's no way I could make out of this one…, _I thought to myself, _…I've failed._

I never thought that I would ever say those words. 'Failed', 'Give up', those words just weren't in my vocabulary. I guess I finally learned what it really meant to fail. And not just fail, epically fail. I just let the whole world down, I was the only one that was here to stop this and couldn't do it.

My chest felt like it was on fire. I closed my eyes and hoped to pass out. As long as I was asleep, I wouldn't be able to feel any pain. I just wanted it to be over…

The next thing I know I felt someone shaking me.

"Wake up!", I faintly heard the voice. "Wake up! Come on, wake up!"

My eyes opened.

"It's working, I think he's coming to." The voice sounded relieved to see I was still alive. "Hey, can you hear me?"

Suddenly, I caught my breath. The shock from it caused me to jump up and sit up. I grabbed my chest in pain, yeah moving…not a good idea.

"Whoa easy!", The guy sounded concerned. Who in this hell hole would be worried about me?

The guy gently helped me lay back on the cot.

"The poison's still in your system, don't move too much or you're done for", he cautioned.

He looks to someone else who was in the tent as well. It was hard to tell, my vision was still blurred. I could only see shapes at this time.

"Quick, go get some water."

The other person ran out of the tent.

I was so confused, "Why…are you helping me?"

My vision began to focus a little. I could barely make out who it was that brought me back.

His voice sounded confident as he whispered, "Because you saw more in me."

I finally figured out who it was, it was that kid that I let go earlier.

"So…you're that kid."

"Yeah, I'm 'that kid'. Although, this 'kid' does have a name."

"Really…I thought you guys had numbers or something."

"Funny. The name's Jonas."

"Aiden."

The other person came back into the tent. They handed a cup to Jonas.

"Here.", I realized who that was too. It wasn't that hard to tell, she only has several sisters and cousins with the same voice.

"Nurse Joy?", I was surprised by this. What the hell was **she** doing here?

"How are you feeling?", she asked.

"I'm fine", I lied. The truth was I had never felt so terrible in all my life, but I wasn't going to tell her that. My voice did betray me though, it sounded so weak.

"Here", Jonas says handing me the cup, "Drink this."

I sat up a little and looked at the cup. I sniffed it a little and then quickly shook my head. I had no idea what the hell it was, but it certainly wasn't water.

"It's the antidote to Seviper's poison", he said as he almost chuckled at my reaction.

"Its alright," Nurse Joy added, obviously she could see the doubt still written on face. "It's safe."

Taking her word for it over Jonas', I took a deep breath and then quickly drank the liquid in the cup. It tasted absolutely horrible, and I could tell it showed in my expression as Jonas laughed. "She said it was safe, she didn't say it tastes good."

"Yuck, you're telling me." I said hesitant to put my tongue back in my mouth. Finally I got over it and I handed Jonas back the cup.

"It'll take at least an hour to kick in, best you don't try and move around until then."

"Great, not the best place to take a break." I sighed heavily as I gently laid back on the cot.

"Well, I better get back. They'll wonder where I've been if I'm gone too long." Nurse Joy then bowed and left the tent.

"Thanks Joy." Jonas called after her.

"She's not really working for you guys is she?" I asked. I was starting to notice that it was easier for me to breath now.

Jonas shook his head and replied. "Not willingly, no. She was taken from the Pokemon Center in Hoenn. The way how the grunts here train their Pokemon is…," He then let out an annoyed sigh and continued. "excessive."

"You talk as if you're separate from them."

"Well, I was…until today."

"Why did you join? I mean, it's obvious you don't agree with what they're doing here? Why do it?"

"I didn't have a choice. My father would've-"

"You always have a choice. What kind of father would force their son to-"

"_Ivan Masters."_

My heart jumped for a second. "What?"

"Yep…I'm Jonas Masters, son of Ivan Masters and sole heir to his estate." He then face palmed himself. "Ugh, I don't even want it."

"How old are you, Jonas?"

"Fourteen. Too young to voice my opinion about what's happing here. That's why I'm here in the first place. He said 'if you're going to take over this company someday, you have to know exactly how it works'. I barely got into the first five minutes of the tag along and I already wanted out. That was at least an hour and a half before you got there."

"Let me tell you something." He looked at me as I continued. "I started my journey on my own, when I was only nine years old."

"I thought you had to be ten to do that." Jonas looked confused.

"Well, my birthday was in two months so they wavered it." That part was true, but I didn't want to tell him my whole back story. How I had no where else to go anyway and it was either go on that Pokemon journey or go with child services to god knows where. I had my first professor to thank for giving me that option. "Anyway, my point is you're never too young to express your opinion, or put yourself on the path to what you want to do in life."

I could tell by the look he gave me, he still wasn't buying it. "You already forgot who my father is, did you?"

I just had to laugh at that. "Masters doesn't scare me."

Jonas' expression didn't change in the slightest. "He's responsible for almost killing you within an inch of your life."

"Eh, wouldn't be the first time." I shrugged.

He then shook his head. "I really don't get you."

"Well, lets see. You don't like what Masters is doing and neither do I, so what do you think?"

"What?"

"Stopping him, wanna help out?"


	4. Chapter 4:  Reckless

**_Chapter 4: Reckless_**

* * *

><p>"I cannot believe I am actually doing this." Jonas said as he peeked around one of the corners, still hiding behind the cavern wall. He still looked nervous about helping me out, but I had to admit, the kid had guts.<p>

I was feeling a lot better myself, though Jonas had protested against me heading back into the fray so soon after injury. But I had no time to rest, we had to stop what ever Team Chaos was planning. "Okay, so how much do you know about what is going here?"

"Not much, I do know that the grunts are guarding something. They're also catching any rare Pokemon they happen to find in here with Chaos Balls."

I just couldn't help but start laughing at that. Chaos Balls, really?

Jonas was confused by my reaction. "What? That's not funny."

"Yes it is." I was trying desperately to regain my composure. It was worth it though, I so needed that laugh. "Really, that's the best that Masters could come up with?"

It was obvious that we didn't share the same sense of humor. Jonas crossed his arms and he raised one of eyebrows as he asked. "Are you done?"

"Okay…okay…I'm done. Whew…so, you know just as much as do…great, that puts us back at square one."

"Well, there is something else. In the center of this place, there's a strange structure made of crystal. I don't know what my father is planning on doing with it, but it looks like he's hooking up cables to it or something."

"What, like a power outlet?"

"I guess you can call it that."

"That would make sense. The Tree has it's own power source, it's a living thing."

"I didn't know that."

"I did the research before I came here. I had to know exactly what I was dealing with." I rubbed the back of my head as I remembered the beating I got just a few hours ago. "Although, having more inside information on Team Chaos' units would've been nice."

Suddenly, Mew appeared right next to us. It was so excited to see me that it nuzzled me.

"Mew", I was happy to see it was alright too.

Jonas looked back and saw us. "Geez, do you have Pokemon nip on you or something?"

"Nope, I just understand them", I said as I scratched behind Mew's ear. Legendary or not, it was still a Pokemon and what Pokemon doesn't like a light scratch behind their ears?

"Okay well Dr. Doolittle, we need a plan", Jonas said as he looked around the next corner.

I definitely agreed with Jonas there. We had to think carefully, there was no way I was risking getting caught again. "Well, first of all, I think we should get Nurse Joy out of here. I really don't want her getting in the middle of all this."

"Um, we already talked about this. It's too far to lead her out of here. Not only that, it's too dangerous to take her along. That's why we left her back at the camp in the first place."

"But now we have a way to get her out." I then turned to the cheerful pokemon next to me. "Mew?"

Mew looked back at me and tilted it's head to the side in a curious manner. It was like it was saying 'yes?'

"Do you think you could take Joy somewhere safe?" I asked.

Mew nodded and then disappeared.

"Okay, well that solves that problem. But how are we suppose to find the center of this darn place? It's like a maze in here."

After Jonas pointed that out, I thought out loud for a minute. "Hmm, well if Masters is trying to get energy from the Tree, an electric pokemon should be able to track it."

"Right then." Jonas took out a poke-ball, I was actually surprised that it wasn't one of those mind controlling ones, but a normal poke-ball. "Luxray, you're up."

Right on command, the pokemon in question appeared out of the ball. I was actually surprised by this as well, "Hmm, impressive."

"Heh, thanks. Trained him myself." He then turned to the electric lion next to him. "Luxray, I need you to track some electrical pulses in here and lead us to where they're coming from."

Understanding Jonas, the Luxray nodded. It then swiftly picked up the trail and took off down the cavern. "There he goes, he's got it."

The two of us chased after the Luxray, trying to keep pace with it. Might as well have been trying to catch a train, that electric pokemon was fast.

Just as we passed through one of the cave's naturally made intersections, my eyes were drawn behind me to something that sped into the hall we just passed. It was the crazy female officer that tried to kill me earlier. As soon as our eyes met, I knew we were in trouble. "Jonas!"

Right after I called back to Jonas to get his attention, I stopped running and stood my ground. We may have lost the element of surprise, but I wasn't about to let her escape and give away our location. Unfortunately…she had the same idea.

She threw three of her poke-balls into the cavern Jonas and I were in. At that moment I activated my glove, I still had Sora's lightning attacks registered.

As soon as Exploud came out of one of the poke-balls, Jonas' Luxray sped right past me and bit it right between the eyes, causing it to step backward and yell out in pain. It wasn't nearly as loud as when it used HyperVoice, thank god.

The next poke-ball revealed the Drapion, followed right afterward by Ryperior. Great…them again.

"Luxray! Use Thunder!"

On Jonas' command, the Luxray sparked and the sent electricity right into the Exploud's skull, paralyzing it.

The Drapion tried to get into the cavern, but it was too small for the large scorpion pokemon to fit through. But it was more than easy for the Ryperior.

Jonas threw in another poke-ball. "Weavile, Faint Attack!" Without even missing a beat, the said pokemon emerged from the poke-ball and carried out it's attack on the Ryperior. It's sharp claws sliced right across the stone pokemon's face. Jonas must've spent a lot of time training his pokemon to be able to accomplish such a feat.

Seeing my opening, I dashed right in using Quick Attack. Now that Exploud and Ryperior were distracted, all I had to worry about was Drapion…and even though it was massive, electric attacks should do some damage if I could find a weak spot.

I charged up a Zap Cannon in my hand and then slammed the powerful attack right between the eyes of my attacker. Seeing another opportunity, I used Quick Attack again to close the gap between me and officer, only to be met by one of Drapion's claws. Thinking fast, I placed one foot on one of the pincers and then pushed off.

I heard the female officer shouting over the clashing in the background. " Drapion! Cross Poison."

_Crap. _Now I was in trouble.

Just then, Mew appeared next to me. Perfect timing. "Mew, use Teleport!"

That next instant, Mew and I were sent out of the cavern and transferred to another part of the Tree. I looked around, not recognizing my surroundings at all. "Okay…not exactly what I meant."

Mew shrugged.

Then, a sudden roar made both of us jump. I looked over my shoulder and couldn't believe what I saw. That officer's Drapion was too close when Mew teleported and was sent to the same place we were standing.


End file.
